


Black Magic

by BurningBehindMyEyes



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Jason Todd is a registered badass and no one can tell me otherwise, Magic, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-08-16 13:24:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8104099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurningBehindMyEyes/pseuds/BurningBehindMyEyes
Summary: There was a mystery box on the island, a handsome Kryptonian standing right next to him, and the intruder alarms were blaring.Dammit, Tim hadn't even had his coffee yet.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If there's a lot of interest, I may continue this. For now it's just a one-shot.

Tim hadn't even had his coffee yet, and he was already dealing with this bullshit. It was ridiculous. It had been around seven in the morning, when Tim had only slept for three hours after going on patrol with Bruce, and then going over the case files he had been working on as Red Robin. Exactly six months ago, Tim had turned eighteen and had decided to leave the Robin mantle behind. If he recalled correctly, a young man named Terry was currently Batman's Robin. After Tim had rolled into bed at four AM, he crashed and was then woken up by someone ringing his apartment's doorbell. Tim knew full well that it wasn't any of the Batfam - if it was, they just would have come through the the window. Therefore, Tim decided that whoever it was wasn't important enough and could definitely wait.

They didn't agree.

They continued to ring the doorbell, until they were pressing the button non-stop. Tim eventually screamed into his pillow and dragged his butt out of bed. He looked like an absolute mess; hair messy and sticking up in odd directions, a trail of drool leading from the corner of his mouth to his chin, his pyjamas rumpled and hanging off one shoulder, and enormous dark bags under his eyes. He opened the door, ready to scream at whoever dared disturb his rest at this ridiculous hour.

But there was no one there. Instead, on the doormat outside his apartment, was a cardboard box. It was taped together, with fragile stickers plastered all over it. Tim looked tiredly down the hallway, but no one was there. Someone had clearly left this thing for him... whatever it was. It was an ordinary, small, cardboard box. With holes in the sides. No noise was coming from the box, so gingerly, Tim picked it up. He brought it through his door, glancing at the self-built metal detector on the wall. The detector scanned the contents of the box, and the results were inconclusive, but the detector was able to tell that whatever was in the box wasn't a bomb or anything of the sort.

Tim was curious now. He carried it in gently, and placed it carefully on the island. He quickly clicked the button on his automatic coffee machine and put a mug under the spot where the life-giving liquid would come out. Tim watched the box out of the corner of his eye while his coffee brewed and poured into his mug. Once it was done, he grabbed the handle and sipped the coffee, black and boiling hot, but caffeine was required right about now.

Tim gulped down most of the coffee before setting the mug down on the island. He crossed the granite counter, tracing his lithe fingers over the wood on the two barstools he had pressed up against the dark wood of the island. He reached the box and grabbed a pair of scissors, slicing the tape easily. Tim blinked before truly thinking about this situation. The detector had said the contents of this box was nothing mechanical, but made no promises that it wasn't dangerous nonetheless. Tim frowned.

"Kon. Get your butt over here." he mumbled. Moments later, there was a tapping at the large window in the living room. Quickly, Tim crossed the room and opened the window, inviting the Kryptonian inside.

"Hey. What's up?" Conner was wearing his usual Superboy shirt, with a pair of dark jeans and sneakers. His hair was tousled and slightly wet. "I heard you call."

"I got a weird package. My detector said it wasn't a bomb or any sort of machinery, but couldn't identify it either. Thought it might be best to get you over here just in case." Tim hummed in response. He closed the window before heading back towards the kitchen. "Coffee?"

"No thanks." Conner murmured. "So where's this weird package?"

"Over here." Tim led Conner across his apartment. It was a modern, beautiful two person apartment. The front door was like any other, wooden, but armed with six different locks and a detector system analyzing the entire perimeter. There were thin black pads that showed the item(s) scanned on them beside every entrance to the apartment. The door led to a narrow hallway, with minimal black-and-white artwork and white walls. The floor underneath was a crisp black tile, with a meter-long glass table sitting a few feet away from the door. On it was a house phone, Tim's keys and phone charger, along with a coffee thermos. As you exited the hallway, to your left was the living room. The black tile continued into both the kitchen and the living room. In the living room was a white wood shelf, that was at the height of Tim's knees, with a flatscreen TV resting upon the top of it. It was wedged into the corner, with one large white sofa and two white love seats flanking it surrounding the TV. Underneath them all was a fuzzy white carpet that Tim _secretly_ liked to nap on. The carpet reached around to just the edge of the sofa before it ended. Only about a meter away from the carpet was Tim's white desk, underneath it being black tile. He had one of those plush black, spinny chairs pressed up to the desk with a black laptop sitting atop it, a mouse attached to the side. There were a couple of modern flower cases on the desk, along with organized paper stacks from Tim's work with Wayne Enterprises. He was currently the CEO, as Bruce had passed the title off to Tim once he turned eighteen. The ceiling was, thankfully, not popcorn, and had a white fan gently spinning above the living room. There were several large windows, which allowed Tim the perfect view out onto the Gotham skyline. The far left edge of the carpet had a secret fingerprint scanner, and if you pressed your finger to it and were allowed access, you could peel the carpet back to reveal a staircase down to Tim's vigilante headquarters. There was Tim's giant computer, case files, instant coffee machines, med bay, costumes, and rides. Bruce actually owned the entire hotel, and had built the floors starting from the twenty second down as secret stashes of vigilante gear in case they needed it. Floor twenty belonged to Nightwing, nineteen to Red Hood, eighteen to Batman himself, seventeen was just a plain medical hospital, (it was very well stocked) sixteen was Cass' floor, fifteen was Stephanie's, fourteen belonged to Babs, thirteen actually belonged to Superboy, (Tim had ensured that one) while floors twelve to five belonged to the Teen Titans as a backup hangout. Floor four was an extra Justice League command centre, while floors three to one all belonged to Tim and his Red Robin activities.

There were three doors beside Tim's desk that led to the small library/reading room Tim had, Tim's bedroom, and the guest bedroom. Both bedrooms led to their own private bathroom. The kitchen had granite countertops, with nearly black wood. It was small, but just what Tim needed for himself. Top-of-the-line appliances were in his kitchen, with a door beside the fridge leading to the laundry room, and a door beside that leading to another bathroom. Tim loved his apartment, and kept it as clean as possible.

He approached the box, Conner following after he had taken his shoes off. Both boys trotted over to the package, Tim still quite curious about the box and it's contents. He glanced at Conner quickly before nodding and grabbing the cardboard flaps that used to hold the box together. He pulled them apart, and with the reassurance of the large Kryptonian beside him, Tim peeked into the box.

...and was one hundred percent floored. Tim hadn't known what to expect. The box wasn't dangerous, but this apartment was a secure location. There was actually, legally, a different address that Tim lived in. According to the legal work, Tim's apartment was on the first floor. The apartment down there was completely faked, in order to divert suspicion from Tim himself. Meaning, vigilantes or some sort of person or organization similar had to have sent this.

Inside of the box was a black mound of fur. It was breathing, dark fur rippling dangerously as it's flank rose and fell. It had a small, pink nose and it's eyes were closed. It made a rasping sound with every breath, and Tim's own breath caught in his throat as he noticed the blood coating the animal's side. Tim's jaw hit the floor as he finally identified the animal in this box.

Someone had sent him a _freaking baby **panther**._

Just then, Tim'e apartment alarms began blaring.

He had an intruder. And by the sound of the alarm... great.

Ra's al Ghul. League of assassins.


	2. Clawed

Black Magic chapter 2

"Timothy." Ra's al Ghul stepped into Tim's apartment as the man sighed heavily and pinched his nose. Kon, bless him, stepped in front of Tim, bristling with protectiveness.

"What do you want, Ra's?" Tim made sure to sound as annoyed as possible and not extremely pleased at Kon trying to protect him like a pissed off cat.

"I take it you found your present?" Ra's gestured to the box.

"A half dead panther. Whoopie." Tim rolled his eyes, hands on his hips. "I am so excited." Tim's voice was as cutting and sarcastic as humanly possible, to the point that even Kon winced.

Ra's merely smirked cooly. "He's no ordinary panther, Detective. He was... disobedient, but I promise he will serve you well. Enjoy your present." Ra's had the audacity to wink, while Tim gagged in the background. Kon snarled in response, fists tightening. Ra's disappeared as fast as he came, and Tim's alarms stopped blaring.

"Oh for..." Tim growled, sitting down and slamming his face into the table. He heard Kon sit down beside him, watching him carefully. A minute later, a steaming cup of coffee was placed by Tim's head, and he lunged for it, grabbing it and beginning to drink.

Ah.

Tim loved coffee.

Tim eyed Kon over the lid of his mug, then back to the box and sighed once more.

"We'll have to call Alfie." Tim said. "We can't go to a vet or they'll take the panther or just put him to sleep. Alfred'll be able to help him." Tim looked over at the box. "I think I'm going to call him... Damian. Yeah. After the kid in the Omen."

Kon raised an eyebrow, but nodded slowly. "Are you sure you'll keep him?" he said. "Ra's al Ghul may have planted it specifically so that it would hurt you."

"I don't think he'd do that, but I'm touched by your concern." Tim gulped the rest of his coffee down and walked over to the box, delicate fingers opening the box to check on the newly named Damian. "Think you could fly us over? It'll take less time."

"Yeah, sure." Kon gently grabbed Tim's arm with his left hand and the box with his other hand. The Kryptonian lifted his arm to allow Tim to slide onto his back, Tim reaching up to grip at his neck. Once Tim was safely situated on Kon's back, Kon gently accelerated, keeping tabs on both the box and Tim.

Soon, the huge manor came into view. Kon had stayed in the cloud cover, hiding their presence until this point. He quickly descended, touching the ground and hiding in the trees. He looked up at the giant manor that they were at the foot of, and marvelled once again at the enormous size. The front gate was a dark grey metal, that went around the perimeter and was well above Kon's head. The gate itself was made of some kind of stone that Kon couldn't identify, with small beeps and flashes of colour that indicated the security system. There was a monitor hidden in the top right corner of the stone, probably sending information straight to the Batcave.

Tim hopped down and went to go unlock one of the entrances to the Batcave. Kon watched him go.

And no, when Tim bent down, Kon was totally not staring at his butt.

Definitely not.

He would swear it on his father's Blue Boy Scout title.

"Here we go." Tim stood, hands on his hips. He started forwards, Kon following, holding the box of the panther. The entrance opened from under the ground, a large boulder moving out of the way to reveal a staircase. Tim descended it with ease, Kon following in slight confusion. He didn't really get the Bats. Did they honestly need a secret staircase, a secret road, a secret elevator, and an entire secret cave? If they'd just make sure the place was well protected, then there wouldn't be a problem. Whatever. Kon wasn't about to interfere in Bat business unless Tim asked him to.

The staircase was full of heavy rock, thick and dangerous. Kon could feel the defence systems lock in on them, but taped off once they scanned Tim. The other man just kept walking confidently forward, without a single care in the world. Kon could only follow, adjusting his hold on the box and looking down at the little panther.

After a quick x-ray scan of his own, he could tell that the little guy was suffering from blood loss and infection. None of his important organs were damaged, he just had multiple cuts that had been left to rot without treatment for days, perhaps weeks. Infection had set in, and although Kon could tell that right now it wasn't life threatening, it would be soon. The staircase opened up into the cave itself, where Alfred was waiting, uniform perfectly pressed, with one hand behind his back and another carrying a tray.

"Master Tim, Master Connor." Alfred greeted, in his usual emotionless, British accented voice. "To what to we have this pleasure?"

"Ra's dropped off a half dead panther in my apartment." Tim explained, shoving some of Bruce's gadgets out of the way to make room on one of the tables, and gesturing for Kon to put the box down. Alfred glided over, curious now. His brow furrowed in what Kon could only assume was suppressed rage at the treatment of the little guy.

"I've decided to call him Damian." Tim said off-handedly. "Can you help him get better? I also want to know how old he is, and what sort of stuff he needs. Are you able to do that, Alfie? He'll only be here for a couple of days, and I'll take care of him. And help around the manor."

"Don't fret, and put those puppy dog eyes away, Master Tim." Alfred shook his head, an odd mix of irritation and fondness coating his eyes. "You will help around the Manor and you will learn to care for this cub. Damian, was it?" Alfred gently lifted the panther out of the box.

"He's got an infection." Kon spoke up, pointing to one of Damian's paws. "Front left paw. He's also lost a lot of blood, and has a ton of untreated, uncleaned scratches."

Alfred nodded. "I will do what I can." he promised. "But an infection can be dangerous. I would suggest you two go get some rest while I care for the panther."

Tim nodded and led Conner up to his room, the Kryptonian glancing back at the panther.

He hoped he'd be okay.


	3. Little Baby Boo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim and Dami actually get along!

Tim knew something, or someone, was watching him the minute it began to do so. He sighed softly, putting his book down on the large coffee table in front of him. It might be Bruce, the man had been on a League mission for the last few days and hadn’t seen Damian yet. Tim glanced towards the door, eyes narrowed. The presence seemed to understand that it had been caught, creeping forward sulkily. Tim’s eyebrows raised as the baby panther padded into the room, and Tim was once again struck by how small he was. He smiled uneasily at the panther - sure he was tiny, but still a panther - and watched warily as he approached. He already looked healthier, black coat shining, sort of glossy-

And, oh, there was a paw on his thigh, a paw on his chest, and a nose in his face. Tim fell backwards onto the couch out of surprise, not expecting the little guy to jump on him. Damian snuffled at his face, sniffing before sneezing. Tim decided that he could think about how cute that was **after** he wiped the panther snot off his face.

“Ewwwww.” Tim complained, loudly, Damian’s green eyes boring into Tim’s icy blue ones. Tim raised a hand, wiping the snot off his cheek and looked sadly at his now-ruined white dress shirt. As he pulled his hand away, Damian nudge it, running Tim’s hand over his head. Tim smiled softly, stroking Damian’s fur and scratching behind his ears. His fur was both thicker and softer than Tim had thought it would be, and before long, an enormous, rumbling purr began from the centre of Damian’s chest. He brought his back leg up, settling his paws squarely on Tim’s chest, his purr vibrating throughout Tim’s chest. Tim cooed at the panther, bringing both hands to scratch and cuddle with the little guy.

“Aw, you little terrifying baby big cat panther given to me by a megalomaniac, aw little baby boo. You’re not scary at all, are you?” Damian kept purring at the attention. Tim cooed at him some more, not seeing how Dick and Bruce entered the living room. As soon as they appeared, Damian’s ears pricked up and he stopped purring, skin around his muzzle lifting as he bared his teeth. Tim stopped cooing, looking towards the door as Damian leapt off his chest, knocking the wind out of Tim’s lungs. Tim sat up, brow furrowed as Damian stalked forwards, snarling and placing himself between one who was familiar and those who were not.

“Damian, no!” Tim yelled, extending a hand just as the panther was about to jump. Damian paused, tail whipping back and forth. He looked back towards the other two men, snarled, and then padded towards Tim, sheathing his claws as he went. Tim stood, leaving the ruby red couch and checking the white carpet for scratch marks. Tim gulped, if he found any, Alfred was going to kill him. He ran his hands through the fluffy carpet, almost being able to feel Damian’s confusion as if it was in his own mind. Tim sighed in relief, standing straight to face Dick and Bruce, in a hoodie and dress shirt respectively. Dick’s hair was wet, like he had just gotten out of the shower, while Bruce’s appearance was groomed and neat, as per usual. Dick’s eyebrows were raised, his mouth open, while Bruce was still tense, ready and waiting for Damian to lunge at him again. Tim smiled sheepishly and got onto his knees, scratching under Damian’s chin. The panther groaned before he flopped over, stretching his neck and belly out. Tim grinned, Dick approaching warily.

“Hey Tim,” Dick began conversationally. “Uh, I don’t mean to be a party pooper, but where the hell did you find a panther?!” Dick’s voice raised in both volume and pitch as he questioned Tim. Tim winced and opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by Bruce.

“And why did you think it was a good idea to bring him home?” Bruce demanded, and they both got in Tim’s face, eyebrows raised questioningly.

Just then, Kon walked into the living room. “Hey Tim, Alfie called me, said you and Dami were ready to…” Kon stopped talking, looking around the room. Tim sighed in frustration, feeling the familiar annoyance whenever he had to deal with Dick and Bruce lately spring up. For whatever reason, they had just been getting on his nerves.

“Ra’s gave him to me, Dick.” Tim said, focusing his attention on petting Damian instead of the idiots in the room. Plus, Kon was in a tank top, and like, Tim could appreciate the male aesthetic, but Kon took that to a whole new level and Tim was prone to blushing, and it showed up easily on his pale face. “And I brought him here because he was injured and sick, and Alfred said he could help him.” Tim stood, hands under Damian as he tried to pick him up. The panther squirmed, shoving a paw on Tim’s nose. Tim leaned his face away as far as possible, grunting and repositioning Damian so that the panther’s front paws were braced in the crook of his elbow, right arm underneath him to support him. Damian’s back paws were braced on Tim’s left bicep, and Tim curled his arm around the panther so he would be able to reach Damian’s back, stroking the soft fur.

“And since when did you start trusting anything Ra’s gave you?” Bruce demanded as Tim walked towards Kon, joining the Kryptonian. Of course, since Tim turned to face Bruce and Dick once more, Tim didn’t see the massive red blush as Kon’s eyes went to Tim’s back, before rushing away quickly.

“I dunno, Bruce,” Tim said sarcastically. “Are you suggesting I should’ve let him to die? Besides, his name’s Damian.” Tim’s voice was cutting, hard as steel, and cold as ice. “And we’re not staying any longer. Alfred helped, Damian’s healed enough, and I’m going home. Let’s go, Kon.” Tim marched off, head high in the air as Kon followed sheepishly.

As they left, Bruce swore he could see the panther smirk.


	4. When Cave Walls Glow (and you're sure that you're not drunk this time)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason is surprisingly helpful.

Tim traced the writing on the wall, the eerie green glow shining through the grooves that made up the strange lettering. An alphabet that  Tim didn’t know. Tim walked forwards, running his eyes over the walls and floor, the cave dark except for the strange crystals and foreign alphabet. Tim turned a corner to the left, saw a little boy sitting on the floor, on top of a pelt of black fur. Chains were wrapped around his wrists, ankles, and neck, attached to the cave walls around him. His skin was a dark shade of bronze, the skin itself hidden under a pair of black sweatpants, his back and chest bare. Scars crisscrossed his body. He was sitting with his back to Tim, his legs folded underneath him, and his palms on the ground, beside his legs. Tim noticed a heavy scar across the back of the palm of the boy’s right hand. Before Tim could say anything, the boy whipped his head around, ebony black hair framing acid green eyes. The colour flooded Tim’s vision, and he woke up from his dream with a cold sweat and his heart pounding.

Tim’s eyes flew open as he sat up, slightly disturbed. Why his subconscious had dreamed up a chained boy, Tim had no idea. This better not be a weird way of his mind suggesting he had  a new kink. Tim sat up quickly, walking briskly to his desk. Tim had always kept notebooks and pens in his desk at the Manor - and he doubted that Bruce or Alfred would take the supplies out. Tim brought out the writing materials, retracing the symbols on the paper. Frustrated, Tim eyed the symbols, unable to to decipher the marks. Somehow, some way, Tim knew that that dream, those symbols, were important. He didn’t know why. Tim huffed in frustration, looking towards the red digital clock on the side table beside his bed. It read that it was 7:37am. Tim had planned to leave for his apartment at 10:30, bringing Damian along with him. The panther was nearly fully healed. It had only been a few days, and yet, the infection was completely gone, all of the serious wounds healed and scarred over, and the less serious ones nearly healed. It had weirded everyone out - creatures weren’t supposed to heal that fast, no matter what they were. Bruce had opted to go for an aggressive, borderline protective stance, telling Tim that in no uncertain terms, that Bruce would experiment on and test Damian to see what the little guy really was. Tim had just about knocked his head off. There was no way  Bruce was taking an innocent baby animal and using it as a lab rat.

Besides, Tim was determined to take Damian home. Somehow, Tim didn’t really like the idea of Damian staying here. Tim glanced back towards the symbols, eyebrows furrowed. He would ask Bruce or Dick about the strange lettering before he left. Might reach out to Babs and Jason too, because something was definitely telling Tim that this was so immeasurably important, but he couldn’t understand why. Butterflies seemed to be throwing a fit in his stomach, his hands and legs shaking, with chills and strange tingles happening all over his body, eyes zeroed in on the writing. Tim stared at the paper, eyes refusing to blink. A small growl, one Tim had begun to associate with hunger, came from the corner of the room. Tim’s head whipped around as Damian padded over, successfully distracting Tim. Tim sighed softly, getting off his chair, placing both hands on either side of Damian’s head, closing his eyes and leaning in close. Tim scratched Damian’s head, behind his ears, and allowing the rumbling, vibrating purr to chase away the green glow appearing in the backs of his eyelids, invading his vision and burning the image of the boy into his mind. Tim sighed in relief as Damian’s nose touched Tim’s forehead, banishing the image of the boy, the colour of black returning to his closed eyes. Tim opened them, staring into Damian’s eyes. As he looked away, acidic green eyes followed him.

“Alright Dami.” Tim said, scratching Damian’s head one last time. “Let’s go get some grub. I heard that Alfie went out and bought some lamb - he’s probably taken all the bones and yucky stuff out by now. It should taste good.” Tim stood, taking Damian was him. When the panther had settled comfortably, Tim supporting his back paws, with Damian’s front paws resting on Tim’s shoulder. Tim hummed at the familiar position, walking swiftly out of his room and down the west wing, heading for the enormous staircase in the centre of the Manor. As Tim descended, he came face-to-face with Jason. Tim was still in his pyjamas, while Jason was dressed in a smart pair of black ripped jeans, a red t-shirt, and a brown motorcycle jacket. His shoes were off, eyebrows raised at the baby panther in  Tim’s arms.

“Heard you got a present from Ra’s, Replacement.” Jason said casually, joining Tim as he walked towards the kitchen, barely even noticing Tim’s wonderful Wonder Woman pajamas. Jason skipped over to Tim’s right side, eyeing the panther who stared back with a neutral expression. Jason leaned his face closer to the fur, taking in a deep breath. Tim turned, eyebrow raised in sheer sarcastic confusion.

“What the _hell_ are you doing?” Tim exclaimed, eyes slightly narrowed as he held Damian closer to his body.

“Smells like magic.” Jason commented lightly. “What’s his name?”

“Smells like - ugh, his name his Damian.”

“After the kid in the Omen?”

“No, because it means ‘to tame’ and has Ancient Greek roots.”

“...”

“Yes, he’s named after the kid in the Omen, thickhead.” Tim snapped irritably, rolling his eyes as he walked away. He knew full well that Jason would follow, even though the man almost never let his footsteps be heard pretty much anywhere. “And what do you mean, he smells like magic? That makes absolutely no sense.”

“First of all, Timmy,” Jason drawled as they reached the kitchen, choosing to sit on the island as Tim grabbed the aforementioned lamb comp, raw, with all the bones taken out. Tim placed the chop in the plate they had set up on the ground, turning when Damian began to eat. Jason kicked his feet childishly against the counter. “You guys keep forgetting that I was trained by the League of Assassins.” he commented, a small smirk on his face.

“And what does that have to do with anything?” Tim asked, exasperated.

“You learn how to sense magic.” Jason shrugged. “They said I had enough aptitude to learn, but not enough time to teach me a whole lot. I know simple neutralization spells and how to sense magic, and some attacking spells. A plethora of things, I guess.” Jason eyed the panther, legs finally stopping. “That panther reeks of magic. Old magic.   Combo of his own, though it’s pretty muted, and somebody else’s. I think there’s a spell on him to hold his magic back.” Jason explained thoughtfully, studying Damian. Tim was doing the same, watching Damian lick his paws after eating. “I don’t know if I can get rid of the block, or even if we want to.”

“If we want to?” Tim echoed, turning a questioning gaze to Jason, catching the older man’s blue green eyes.

Jason nodded. “Sometimes magic is blocked for a reason. Criminals, people with too much power and too little moral high ground. Or, if a body can’t hold that much power, or if a person fades between the physical and Astral planes without warning. It could just be that someone’s scared of this little guy.” Jason hopped off the counter and approached the panther, leaning down to look at him. “And they want him in a weaker position. My bet’s on R’s, but I don’t know why. And there’s the thought of why he gave Damian to you, as well.” Jason stared at Damian, assessing the acidic green eyes casually. “You haven’t had weird dreams lately, right?”

“Uh…” Tim looked away. “Yeah.” at Jason’s approving nod, Tim decided to continue. “I was in a cave, acidic green writing shining through the grooves in the walls. Turned a corner and a kid was there - young, looked around 10. Spiky black hair, acidic green eyes, dark skin, in chains. He had pretty bad scarring on his back and one specifically on the back of his hand. When he turned to look at me, the dream ended.”

“Did you catch the symbols? Write them down, maybe?”

“Yeah.”

“Go get them.”

Tim ran back upstairs at the command. Clearly, Jason knew what he was doing in this scenario, and Tim didn’t. He walked briskly down the hallway to his room, pushing his door open and grabbing the piece of paper he had written the symbols on. Tim tried not to look at them as he ran back downstairs to Jason, skidding on the wooden floors and rushing into the kitchen. He thrust the piece of paper at Jason, who was sitting in a chair, two mugs of steaming coffee on the little glass table that was situated in the kitchen. Tim slid onto the seat across from Jason, the older man sliding a mug at Tim. While he studied the piece of paper, Tim looked down at his mug, the pitch black liquid sloshing against the sides softly.

Tim raised the baby blue mug with a narwhal design on it, taking the rim of the mug to his mouth. Tim swallowed a mouthful, the bitter taste flowing over his tongue, scalding the back of his throat. Tim cleared his throat slightly, studying Jason quietly. A burning curiosity ate at Tim’s brain, making his feet tap up and down, his hands restless. Tim couldn’t contain himself, shifting in his chair as Jason’s eyebrows drew farther and farther down. Tim worried at his lip. He was a mixture of anxious and curious. He had had that weird dream and those symbols had been nearly burned into Tim’s eyes. They meant something, Tim knew it. That kid was important, Tim just had a feeling he really couldn’t explain. Tim glanced back towards Damian, who was tensing to jump. Tim yelped softly, pushing back from the table as Damian leapt onto his lap. The panther circled once before settling, ebony black tail flicking Tim’s abdomen as his paws fell, resting over Tim’s thighs.

“Hm….” Jason murmured, thoughtfully tapping his chin. “This stuff… this is powerful binding and healing runes. Someone was trying to keep him weak, but definitely alive. That kid is something powerful, alright. I can’t specifically identify each and every rune,  but that’s the general idea behind it. Caves, in this sense, are often used to confine more… divine beings.” at Tim’s confused look, Jason elaborated. “They’re not gods. Definitely still mortal, but they don’t really age. They’re not human. They’re created by humans, through black magic and different emotions. They’re made of magical power, and ate equally divided between the physical world and the Astral plane, the mostly invisible world of sheer power and wisdom.” Jason thought for a moment. “Think of the Astral plane as a library. There’s tons of books everywhere - and some are about fire, water, life, death, power, tides, waves, the air, ect, okay? When these beings, I call them Divis, are created and can only read one of the books. They read the one book, and learn everything from it, pulling the ability to control whatever the book’s about. What book they have in the Astral plane is carried over to the physical realm, where they have the knowledge and the power to manipulate the physical world. People with magical ability can read pone or two pages from every book, if they can live long enough to read them all. Make sense?”

Tim nodded. “So this kid is probably one of these beings?”

“Yeah. Might be a relatively new one, under a thousand years old.”

“So, when they’re created, you mentioned emotions.”

Jason sighed softly. “Yes… see, the Divis aren’t the embodiment of natural forces, even if they do have the book on… the ocean, let’s say. If a little girl was upset over her dad not coming back from the sea, and she cried into the ocean, the water and her tears may mix enough to create a Divi, supplying the emotion required. The definition of black magic is really hazy and the line is practically invisible, so it’s really easy to accidentally perform some. The Divi that was created, and that was a true story, was called Oma by the little girl, and Oma could control the tide. Oma brought the little girl’s father home and then vanished into the waves. She surfaces every once in awhile, but that’s who we create Divis.”

“But how does Damian tie into all of this?” Tim said, stroking the purring panther’s back. Tim watched in interest as Jason pursed his lips, watching the panther carefully.

“Leave him with me for the rest of today.” Jason requested. “And I just might be able to tell you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment if you enjoyed!


	5. Divided Between Worlds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian's revealed to be who he really is.

Tim left to go out to a movie with Kon while Jason stayed with Damian. Jason decided to go to an unused, open guest bedroom in the east wing of the bedrooms. Jason entered the bedroom, turning to eye the panther as he padded into the room. Jason sighed softly, mentally preparing himself. Jason was one of the best at mental magic - scrying into someone's mind, illusions, and retracing and rerouting paths of magic. Jason shrugged his jacket off, throwing it on the bed.

Murmuring under his breath, bright purple lettering appeared on his palms. They had a cooling sensation, and Jason closed his eyes as his palms came into contact with Damian's head.  
Images flashed through his brain violently, with enough force and tinged with enough emotion to really send Jason spiraling out of control. He saw a young man, brown hair and dark skin, warm chocolate eyes. He was injured, falling into a pool of water. Jason watched as the water took on an unnatural green colour, and found his breath catch as the colour spread. It... it was-

The young man rose from the water, gasping and confused. From behind him, the boy that Tim had described rose from the water, thick, shimmering green fabric covering his body. He hugged the young man, the scar fading. The scene flashed forward and the young man was back - falling into the Lazarus pit time and time again. Jason knew who he was watching - Ra's al Ghul, and the creation of a Divi, one who is divided between worlds. The scenes began to flash by faster, and Jason fought for a clear picture before one memory tinged in red caught his attention. Jason grabbed hold of it, allowing it to play through. He watched Ra's - who looked the same as he did in present time - desperately trying to push someone into the Pit. The body fell and the child, dark skinned, black hair, green eyes, formed, hugging the body as his fabric washed over it, the Lazarus water following.

_I cannot raise the dead._ Jason read the boy's lips. _She will not come back the same as she was. She is better off this way._

Nothing happened to the corpse floating in the boy's arms.

The boy looked up at Ra's, shaking his head. Jason watched, numb, as the man yelled in grief. Jason could only watch, helpless, as assassins rushed into the cavern, taking the Divi and chaining him by his wrists to the ceiling of the cavern, allowing his feet to dangle above the Pit. 

Two little girls watched from the opening as the guards slit the Divi's wrists with vertical strikes, and the Divi's throat with a clean, horizontal slash. Jason's breath caught in his throat as acidic green sludge poured out of the boy's wounds, falling into the Pit, the water glowing brighter and more dangerously. The body in the Pit stirred and began to scream. Ra's seemed not to care as he gathered the twitching individual from the Pit, ordering the guards.

Jason didn't need to read lips to know what would happen. The guards placed runes around the chains and wounds, talented sorcerers channeling powerful magic. The wounds continued to bleed, the Pit continued to glow, and the Divi's blood continued to be replaced. Binding runes stripped him of his power, healing runes to keep him alive but bleeding. And Jason watched Ra's continue to bring the other person to the Pit, self-inflicted injuries only getting more and more gruesome. One day, Ra's just sat at the edge of the Pit and cried. The Divi looked on, impassive.

The Divi didn't seem to age. The memories flashed by once more, and Jason let them. He saw another thread, meant to catch his attention, and he took the opportunity. The Divi was still chained in the same place, covered in wounds. Acidic green blood poured out of his body in a small, steady stream, the glow reflecting off the walls of the cavern. A young woman let herself into the cavern, staring the Divi down. Jason felt his breath catch at Talia’s appearance. She sighed, and flicked her fingers. Jason’s heart began to pound against his chest, watching the Lady Shiva herself enter, carrying Jason’s own catatonic, vegetable body against her chest. She waited, and watched as Talia faced the Divi, and suddenly, Jason was looking through its eyes. He read her lips, watched her make a deal.

If the Divi could take away as much of the Pit madness as it could, she’d set it free. And Jason was back to the bird’s eye position, as the Divi dipped its head slightly. Talia motioned to Jason’s body yet again, watching as Shiva placed it into the Pit, almost reverently. The Divi closed its eyes, and the glow began. Jason watched as his own younger form leapt out from the Pit, growing in the size he had lost being malnourished, as scars faded, and muscles regenerated. He watched Talia’s lips curl into a small smile, approaching the Divi. From this angle, Jason couldn’t hear what she said, but as he was thrown out of the memory, he was guided straight into a new one. Talia was seated, chanting over the now-free Divi, black magic curling from her fingers and settling onto the Divi, changing his shape. Before long, a small panther cub was situated in her lap. She narrowed her eyes at it softly.

_You will have to be harmed._ she raised her own knife, stabbing downwards into the panther cub, inflicting the numerous injuries. Blood splattered against her cheek and yet the animal did not whine. She threw the knife to the ground, sliding a box towards herself. Inside, was an injured panther cub, which she removed and quickly slit the throat of. She raised the Divi, placing him inside the box. _Father wished to send the first to Timothy to have it attempt to kill him once it healed, as a test of sorts._ she murmured. _This is the fastest way out._ she regarded him with a cold, detached air. _I owe you no debt now._ her head nodded firmly as she closed the lids of the box, taking the body of the original cub away. The memory ended, and Jason was politely prodded at. A request for himself to leave Damian’s mind.

Jason obliged, sliding out of the Divi’s memories and back into his own head. The magic faded from Jason’s fingertips as he straightened, staring at the panther below him. It regarded him with a cool, regal air.

Jason could sense the fear.

“It’s okay.” he murmured. “You… you’re okay now. You’re here, and we won’t let Ra’s take you again.” the panther purred, rumbling in a soothing manner against Jason’s palm. Jason stared down at the panther, fingers sliding smoothly through his soft fur. “He named you Lazarus.” Jason mused. “You want us to get rid of those damn Pits, don’t you?” the panther purred, acidic green eyes locking onto Jason’s. The panther rose, jumping for his front paws to situate on Jason’s soldiers. Those acidic green eyes bore down into Jason’s as the panther pressed his nose to Jason’s.

The man gasped as icy coldness filled his body, his own eyes lighting up in the green, chasing away any traces of blue. He felt the Divi’s magic invade his body, lighting his nerves on fire and bringing his magic up, through his blood, and nearly out his skin. His energy returned tenfold, and Jason swore that at that moment, he could take on the world. The paws left his shoulders, and he glanced up as dark matter dripped off of the panther, a swarm of black energy covering the body as it rose.

It solidified into a roughly ten year old child, spiky black hair with a stripe of green running through it, those same haunting eyes, and browned skin. The boy smiled with no teeth, eyes narrowing slightly as he considered Jason. He shifted, the silky acidic green fabric wrapped around his shoulders shifting as well. It bunched in excessive amounts around his shoulders, the v-neck exposing most of his chest, before being cinched at the waist, and then falling in free abandon around his legs, the train of the cloth trailing on the floor.

“I would take yourself and Timothy as my vessels.” he announced, lips curled into an amused, but fond, smile. “And you would not die.” the boy turned fully to face Jason, the fabric curling in on itself, tightening on the boy’s body. The excess material on his back solidified into a strong bow, along with a full quiver, while the rest hardened into skin-tight armour. The child spread his arms, palms up, allowing the runes surrounding his hands to sink into the ground below him, drawing a circle.

Jason put his hands up, grinning crookedly. “I’ll fight with you.” he said, raising an eyebrow. “But I’m not being anyone’s vessel. I’ve died before and come back - it’s not an experience I want to repeat.”

The Divi turned his head slightly, eyes lightening in understanding. “You like the certainty that death affords you.” he mused. “With life, there is always the unexpected hiding around a corner. With death, there is none of that, merely the gaping darkness of the end of life.” the Divi nodded once, closing his eyes. “I understand your decision. Know that you are in my favour for this act.”

“‘Course.” Jason murmured in response, standing. The Divi barely came up to his ribcage, and he nearly snickered, but caught himself in time. “I’ll call Timmers. Think this is something he might want to know about.” as he went to leave, he caught the Divi doubling over, as if in pain. The darkness surrounded the creature yet again as he shrunk back into the panther cub. The cub huffed in frustration, choosing to lick his paws instead of try again. There was more the Divi wasn’t telling Jason, but that was alright.

He was patient.


End file.
